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 Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:42 pm
"Keep your tail balanced!" Supposedly on work-leave, no one was surprised that the Firekin simply could not keep herself away from the dunes. When she rested in the shade, she called out suggestions. Some appreciated the neutral correction, others rolled up their shoulders and imagined how nice it would be to be smashing the Legate's nose into the sands instead. Occasionally, they got the chance.
Moto'Seide lay, mouth hanging open as she panted, at the base of a dune providing shade from the morning sun. The day had begun only a few hours prior, but the heat was already beginning to make combatant's drool for water. They would break formation before the sun reached its point in the sky, and return briefly in the evening to finish uncoiling their muscles.
Training during the heat of the day, however, was essential. Should anyone complain, Moto'Seide was prepared to give them a firm lecture on acclimating to climate. This, alone, gave them a firm advantage over the more northern Nergui. The more heat you could handle, the more Nergui fell beneath your paws. One more hour training, she explained, could make an entire battle of difference.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 6:17 pm
Niu assumed she'd weighed the pros and cons of this efficiently. She'd have never approached Kidondo otherwise. Brazen overtures just weren't her style. She looked, looked again, then leaped. But no matter how sure she was she could make the jump, what made her hesitate was what she'd be leaving behind when she made it to the other side.
Two days with Azar'bijn and one by her lonesome. It had never been her intent to let him in on this and compromise the mission. What she had to tell him was something else... Unofficial, you could call it.
It always started the same. I.
"I... think it would be good to train Shula on her stamina. She still can't run for very long."
"I... think the weather will be nicer tomorrow."
And when she was alone, more of the same.
I can do this.
I am going to do this.
Niu knew Moto'Seide through stories and gossip. She'd seen her before, but only focused on her once. Since then the Legate's daughter had tried to bully Shula, her brother had purported Niu carrying unwanted cubs, and her son had evidently run away and embarrassed all those of Niu's rank on duty.
The least she could do was answer a question or two.
Niu stopped to the left of her and nodded. "Legate. I was told by Kidondo to come speak with you."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 6:38 pm
Use to having her audience requested, Moto'Seide barely moved an ear when footsteps shifted behind her.
"Tuck your chin!" Feet appeared to the left of her, and the Legate's ear rotated the rest of the way. When Niu spoke, the red lioness' entire head moved. A quick glance was cast towards the sparring, and then she dug her feet into the sand and hauled herself onto all fours with a grunt.
"This way." Bimnono would have had a field day as Moto'seide led Nui over a sand dune to a more private space. She listened for a moment, making sure no echoes around them were intelligible before continuing. Though her ears were forward, the muscles around them were tense and it pulled her brows up on her skull.
"I'm listening." Whether it was something she wanted to hear, however, Moto'Seide was not sure.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 6:54 pm
Azar's low opinion of Seide was ingrained in Niu's head, the offenses committed by Seide's family toward her many (albeit indirectly on every occasion), and then there was the plain and simple fact that she was harder on her fellow females without realizing it. A good first impression was all it took to reverse the damage.
Seide came off as arrogant, dismissive, and Niu wasn't impressed. You probably won't ever see her again. Maybe not any of them. "I need anything you know about the Nergui." Her size wasn't the only thing to match up to Seide. Her nerve did, too. Shunqa would have said they were too alike to ever get along. "I'm infiltrating their lands with permission from Kidondo."
Not under orders. With permission. Her word choice was very much intentional.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 7:37 pm
Nui wasted no time with formalities, asking about the weather, taking laps around the proverbial waterhole and the Legate respected it. They were not here to make friends or to piece together the wounds of enemies.
"Very well." Silence permeated through the dunes as Moto'Seide thought. She had spoken about the Nergui more times than she had teeth, claws, eyes, and ears. Information about the Nergui trickled in slowly, these days. For that reason, Moto'Seide was anxious to travel again. Had she not cubs or a mate, she might have felt a semblance of envy for Nui's current position. When she considered the chance of discovery, or even failure before she reached the Nergui border, the feeling quickly vanished.
"First and foremost, you should know that it is not much," Moto'Seide began after a long inward breath. "There have been a few isolated sightings, and they have only attempted one, poorly planned attack on a single mother. Otherwise, they appear to be taking easier targets and negotiating with larger prides. You have likely already heard they're interested in the plagued pride, far south of us. To me, this signals preparing for a war but a lack of desire to start one."
The Legate's haunches bunched and she settled her weight onto them. "We have had two, thusfar, on our borders. Miah, who tells us he aided the Hongshan, is now a drudge. However, he's been questioned several times and talks only in circles. The other, claiming to be Miah's grandfather, gave us some insight into what they are."
"He said they are not one group, but many groups who all follow under a single leader. They are very interested in the fact we no longer follow Finar-si, and seem to have a strong interest in converting us. In fact, it sounded as though this particular Nergui believed we already followed their cause. I am not entirely convinced I believe his story, but we have very little else."
Though she did not directly ask for questions, the Legate stopped speaking and waited.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:13 pm
Niu had heard of the attack. The sightings. Miah. She waited with bated breath for Seide to tell her something she didn't already know. Maybe they don't realize how much time guards have to talk, she thought. Did Kidondo think she'd have more to say than this?
She wouldn't leave empty-pawed after all. The Nergui thought they were already following their cause? Good. Part of a larger group? Utterly terrifying.
"If I may, Legate, what measures were taken to try and make Miah talk 'straight?'" Niu lowered her voice without making the effort, because this was something any sane individual did when asking if one of their own had been tortured or blackmailed for information.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:37 pm
"You may," Moto'Seide confirmed without an off-beat to her cool, neutral voice. Glancing behind, she kept her eyes on a specific dune. "Miah," she repeated, locking gaze with Niu.
"Nothing extreme." They had not dunked his head in the precious water supply until he couldn't breathe. "But he was not offered a meal and a proper place to sleep, either. He was treated as a prisoner, because he was a prisoner." If he happened to trip and eat a faceful of dirt or speak too little and get cuffed, it was no skin off anyone's teeth.
"We also know his grandfather wanted Miah to return with him to the Nergui. Not unusual, considering we blinded the grandfather." Moto'Seide's tongue rolled behind her teeth. "Miah refused."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:55 pm
Niu knew when to speak and when to listen -- and watch. Words, tones, body language. None were less telling than the others in this conversation. Nothing extreme. She snorted. "So you did all you could with Miah," she said, not sarcastically, though not teeming with approval either. Hunting was never fun for Niu, she didn't have the stomach for outright violence. But as long as Miah lived and breathed, she could only accept these lions had done all they were capable of and not all that could have possibly been done. "But the grandfather did return to the Nergui?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:09 pm
"The grandfather was allowed to return." In theory, a blind lion could not see the Firekin lands to describe it to his kin. However, sending the member back had left a bad taste in Moto'Seide's mouth. A blind lion could still smell and hear. The Nergui were looking for information, and even a small amount would tip the balance. Moto'Seide spent her life training, excited by the prospect of battle, war, and tactical movements. Actual politics were frustrating and never ending. Real battles were skirmishes with unfair odds.
"When are you leaving?" The Legate's brows were tightly furrowed.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:13 pm
When she had all the information she could garner. When Kidondo was alone again, and she could talk to just him. "What's his name?" Niu wanted to know before she answered. "Is there anything else?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:32 pm
"Tarak." Seide's muzzle pressed together, forming a thin line. Briefly, her eyes unfocused and she looked beyond Niu.
"Yes, unless you intend to walk blindly into the North." There was no humor or snark in her tone, as though she truly expected Niu to begin a death-march to nowhere in search of the mysterious pride.
Rising onto her feet, Moto'Seide walked to Niu's side, her shoulder a blockade between the lioness and herself should someone accidentally peak over a dune. She was not, however, hiding Niu but the sand below her. "When are you leaving?" she repeated.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:49 pm
Niu went rigid and breathless. Was Moto'Seide a seer? No, she moved too soon. A shame. If that hazy stare was a vision Niu would have indulged her in more than just her schedule. Seers were such a taboo here she suspected if Seide knew the Nergui's feelings on them, she didn't think to say so. Niu couldn't ask out of the blue and expect to keep ambiguity on her side.
I'm going to do this. If I die, I die for my home. That's better than living for nothing.
Intend to walk blindly north?
"I hadn't," she said, too preoccupied to be annoyed it was necessary to do so. Since Kidondo required an audience prior to leaving, he must have known the way. "I'll leave once I speak with Kidondo." She paused just long enough Seide may have started to speak; if so, it would be the very first syllable and Niu wouldn't do her the courtesy of stopping. She did, however, give her the benefit of the doubt about matters of common sense.
Instead of explaining no one else was to know of this, she told her, "He's the only other lion who knows."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:13 pm
"Good."
The sand parted rapidly underneath Moto'Seide's paw, leaving a thick line. "The northern Firekin border." A pawprint was pressed beneath it. "Outpost. Between the two is a half day walk." Then, a series of crossed hashes with a single paw above this. "Towards the highest point of the rising sun." North. "The sand turns black here." The paw settled into the sand and she was once again on all fours.
"They are moving south, but have many scouts. It's likely you will see these before their larger groups." She stepped slightly to the side, out of the zone of discomfort. "Miah's father, called Godlum Oma is confirmed to be there." The words were gravely and Moto'Seide struggled with their accents.
"Their leader is called Graos Oma, and I have been told they believe in a being called Tra Ord Omak. This is something akin to gods, but there is only one entity." Taking another step back, Seide finished, "I can think of nothing else you should know."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:44 pm
Every sweep of the paw Niu tracked attentively. Her life depended on it. Getting lost in the desert had almost killed her once before.
Godlum Oma's location was confirmed by whom? Niu wondered. Their reliable friend Miah who "talked in circles"? She couldn't afford to make an enemy of Moto'Seide and it wasn't out of genuine need she would ask, so she chose not to. He would be there or he wouldn't and neither instance would make or break her objective.
Graos Oma.
Tra Ord Omak.
She recited them in her head. Her family was never good with names, that's why they christened their offspring things like No, Sen, and Byu.
Her eyes traced the makeshift map when she spoke. All the more to sound inconspicuous. "When they talk about this, we were speaking about your son's adventure. I came as a guard, and left as a frustrated hunter. Tomorrow, I'll leave for my first hunt after speaking with Kidondo to make the rank change official."
Most of the pride knew Niu the way she knew Moto'Seide and would be none the wiser how unlike her this tantrum was (or so she presumed of them). If she didn't say it bluntly, a mother's heart might neglect the obvious solution to the suspicions her absence would cause, if only in passing. She didn't have friends here, really. No family but her secret aunt, which she could credit to the Legate. Nothing made one rethink any desire to reproduce like five minutes with Maipe'Bado.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:59 pm
For the first time, Moto'Seide's ears laid back. The motion was violent: they snapped back onto her skull and then were abruptly forced forwards. While Niu watched the map, the Legate watched her.
This 'plan' she demanded Moto'Seide follow seemed of poor taste. What lion would seek out the regent for a simple rank change? Such simplicities worked their way up the ranks to be delivered in bulk. The Legate's brows grew more furrowed, then finally relaxed. Unless, of course, the individual in question screamed so loudly the regent was forced to tell her off himself.
"Hm." Moto'Seide hummed as she considered it further. "Very well. It will do."
Taking a step back, she examined the simple guard from head to toe as though she had appeared for the first time. "Make your kin proud. Dismissed."
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